The League 1 — WONDER WOMAN: Infiltration
by Quivorian
Summary: First entry to the League (sci-fi/superspy) AU. Diana Prince is convinced that this man... this seemingly benevolent man, is most definitely not good news. He has dark and dangerous secrets. She knows it in her gut. All she has to do now is prove it. Superman was going to be thrilled, but Batman... he was not. After all, he did not like people invading on his territory.
1. xena the frickin' warrior princess

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Also available on AO3, but this is the slightly polished first chapter that I still haven't upped there. Diana/Bruce. Sci-fi/Superspy AU. Batman inspired by a mix of Christian Bale/Batfleck and the Arkham games' version. Wonder Woman mostly JLA/JLU inspired. Characters and origin stories tweaked to fit my needs. Also, anyone willing to beta?**

* * *

 ** _From:_** [Superman]

 ** _To:_** [Aquaman], [Flash], [Arrow]

 ** _CC:_** [Batman]

 _ **Subject:**_ New recruit

 _We've identified a potential seventh. Female. Different – she was using a sword and shield in the field. Confirmed agent of the Amazons, and it is not an agency we've got much details on. All we know is that they're all female._

 _Yay or nay?_

— — —

Diana Prince walks out of the conference room at the Watchtower, hearing the slight pneumatic hiss of the sliding metal doors close behind her. She has just finished her first official team meeting, consisting mostly of pleasant – depending on your definition of 'pleasant' – introductions between the Founding Seven members and an unhealthy amount of debating between the de facto leader of the group and the kid who seemed to be the youngest and most excitable member of the team. They had argued about the name.

The League.

The kid – Flash – had offered many alternatives. Justice Society. Justice League. Justice International. He had even offered 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes' as a cool alternative, in desperation. Still, the Justice League of America was what he had repeatedly insisted on. Superman had dismissed all of them and the team, or at least those who had gathered were fine with simply 'the League'. Diana agreed. It was inconspicuous, not flashy or likely to attract attention and so, clearly the better choice.

Diana had been inducted into the League only a while ago and this was her first time officially meeting part of the team – three males – who all seemed to know each other.

She hadn't known it then, but Superman (the de facto leader) had first seen her in action during a covert operation in Norway while she was in the Amazons. A few days later, during a rare moment of rest, she had opened her unhackable secure line (pfft) to find a private message.

Private, and short.

 **/ From: [redacted]**

 **/ (begin message) saw you in action in norway. private organization. interested? reply within 24 hours (end message)**

If there was one thing Diana knew; it was that private organizations, especially ones who could hack into multiple layers of security, were potentially dangerous. Her curiosity had been piqued and she had replied 'yes', more interested in scoping out the organization than leaving the Amazons. She'd received another message and they'd met once, in public and then now…

Well, now she is here.

Standing outside the conference room on the first floor of a complicated network of multiple basements and secret floors beneath an unassuming warehouse at the edges of Metropolis. The Headquarters of the League. The Watchtower.

Ironic, she notes.

She looks to either side of the brightly lit hallway and wonders which way the cafeteria lies. The meeting has consumed most of her energy and she needs a sugary, caffeinated beverage to get it back. Her induction pack had contained a basic map of the place and it had indicated at the presence of a cafeteria, but the problem was that her map was back at her personal quarters and well, right now, she was a little confused as to where that was.

Wasn't her fault though. Whoever had been in-charge of building the place had tapped into their inner-Daedelus and built a labyrinth.

She doesn't need to worry for long because a second later, the door slides open again and the overly jubilant, young and immature agent who was a thin, wiry fellow bounces out. She racks her mind trying to remember his name… Amell? Amlen? No. Allen.

Barry Allen.

He walks quite a ways down the left side, seeming ignoring her, before pausing. Then, he looks over his shoulder at her and walks back back. He smiles brightly. "Hey Wondy – I'm gonna call you that. No offense,"—he states without asking her if she minds the name—"You seem confused. Whatcha want?"

Diana doesn't mind the name but she doesn't bother to tell him that because she somehow knows that whether she minded or not, the kid would not change his mind or his bright disposition. With the Amazons, she was simply Diana. There was no need for secrecy within the group and all the women – because it was a women-only, exclusive top secret organization that you were born into – used their real names.

It wasn't so with the League.

With the League, due to the amount of people it would eventually involve and the obvious issues of maintaining civilian lives, there were rules to follow. Superman had come with 'Wonder Woman' and unable to bother herself to think of anything else, she'd nodded. Still, there was some leeway in the rulebook allowing agent to choose to reveal their identities and along with Dr. Barry Allen and Dr. Arthur Curry (Flash and Aquaman, respectively), she too was open about her name.

It irritates her a little that she doesn't have a 'Dr' that prefixes her name, but that was only a minor problem.

A laughable name, really. Wonder Woman. A name that had made her regret wondering what sort of an ego a man had to have/or what unfortunate thing he was compensating for to call himself 'Superman'.

So, yeah, 'Wondy' is a much better alternative to her assigned alter-ego and coming from the kid-scientist's mouth, it even sounds grounded and real and somehow human, a trait that she has not felt much in her life.

"I want," Diana returns Barry's smile, "some coffee."

Barry nods once and still beaming at her, motions her to follow him and then—zzzp. He is gone. One moment he stands in front of her and the next there is a bright flash and then a misty, lightning-streaked blur of red and gold blur and he is not. Unable to process what just happened (and with a better understanding of what his suit did – it made him really, really fast) Diana stands staring at the place he used to be and blinks once.

Then there is another zzzp.

Barry skids to a stop in front of her and scratches the back of his neck, looking flustered and cross with himself. "Sorry, Wondy," he says with an apologetic smile and then mumbles, "I forgot you couldn't… that." He points with his thumb at himself and then at the direction he had disappeared in.

"It's okay. But please, do lead me." Diana replies. She chuckles and adds, "Preferably slower this time."

Barry actually laughs at her semi-attempt at her joke and nods fervently. Then he pivots on his feet, almost vibrating where he stands and walks. "This way, Wondy."

Diana follows.

— — —

 ** _From:_** [Flash]

 ** _To:_** [Superman]

 _ **Subject:**_ RE: New recruit

 _A girl? Sword and shield? That's almost like Xena the frickin' Warrior Princess. And like… from an all-female secret organization. Woo!_

 _Can we please have her, Supes? Pretty please?_

— — —

Despite only having been part of the League for a few days and not having met anyone other than three out of six (including her) of her fellow 'founding' members, Diana already feels at home. She attributes part of that to the kid – turns out he is barely drink-legal but already a mega-genius – who is chattering away animatedly in front of her.

After guiding her to the cafe a floor below them (a floor she thought was all empty) and personally making her a drink – Barry claims he is an amazing barista and it is not entirely untrue, because the drink he has made her is very, very sweet and caffeinated and just so good – the two of them sit down on a lush leather sofa and continue their conversation.

Barry tells her about his suit and how he worked with his team and an outside friend to perfect it, to truly master what he has named the 'SpeedForce' and she is fascinated. Sure, Diana has seen no end of fascinating technology during her time with the Amazons but this is new. This is her first time with a person/suit who could bend the laws of physics to increase their speed and velocity. Barry even mentions he believes the potentially achievable speed is… unlimited. Suffice it to say, she is amazed.

In turn, she tells Barry a few things about herself. She talks a little about her time with the Amazons ("I heard they were all women. All women. Like… no men, at all?") and she feeds him tidbits about the genetic makeup of her own self. The conversation turns interesting when the Amazons' – and by extension hers – long-held belief in the Greek gods comes up.

Barry sputters out his drink and his eyes widen comically.

"What?!" Barry gasps in between deep breaths.

Diana nods.

"Like… the Greek gods?" Barry's voice is laced with incredulity.

"Yes."

"Like, Zeus and Hera? And Ares? And Poseidon?"

Diana nods at the mention of each name and Barry mouths a silent 'whoa!'

He thinks for a while before asking, "And Hermes?"

"Yes, Barry."

"And Diameter?"

Now it's Diana's turn to sputter though (she internally thanks Hera) she manages to keep her drink from spraying out. A laugh threatens to escape her and Diana tamps it down. She doesn't have the heart to disappoint Barry with his innocence and child-like awe. She also doesn't want to let the smartest physicist she has met know that he has made a grave mistake or a huge mispronunciation. Even though he is currently wondering out loud whether the goddess Demeter, goddess of wheat and harvesting, has something to do with math.

So, she doesn't correct him. She'll do it later. For now, she just takes another sip of her drink and nods again.

— — —

 ** _From:_** [Arrow]

 ** _To:_** [Superman]

 _ **Subject:**_ RE: New recruit

 _We could do with the diversity and when it undeniably comes to the point where the public comes to know of the League (not saying I want it to happen) having a strong woman on the team will help._

 _There are factors to take into account, though. Is she trustworthy? Can she stand her own? What are her skills? Will she fit in? What is her strategic worth? I'm pretty sure Bats has asked the same questions. Maybe more._

 _I'll leave it to your discretion. Arrow out._

— — —

The conversation flows very easily and Barry is incredibly open and equally honest. Diana likes that, because it is a welcome change of pace from the cloak-and-dagger-types she grew up and associated with for most of her life.

And soon, they get through two large drinks.

The second one is a different mix, Barry insisted she try it and while it is just as sweet as the previous one was, this one leaves a bitter and stinging aftertaste. Barry says this one contains alcohol and then looking down, morosely adds that alcohol has no effect on him because of the chemical formula he has injected into his body. He says he needs it to make himself compatible with the suit and that the chemical messes with his metabolism.

Diana questions him about the obvious safety issues and Barry reassures her. ("It's a one-time process and it's not fatal, dangerous or addiction. I'm not stupid, Wondy. Speaking of addictives… did you know that no drug has an effect on me?")

The conversation comes to a halt when Barry's phone beeps out loud. Diana watches as he pulls his phone and his face lights up, even more than it's usual brightness and Diana is pretty damn sure it just might have something to do with a girl.

Barry scans the text quickly (he does almost everything quickly) and he looks up at her. It's evident from his facial expression that he is trying to phrase a question – a request to leave, more accurately – without offending her. Diana smiles at him and says, "Run, Barry, run. And tell her I said 'hi'."

For a moment, his face is frozen in the perfect expression of surprise and then he shrugs. "It was a pleasure getting to know you," he says. There is a zzzp. He's gone.

Diana stands up and walks to the nearby bin to dispose the cups and there is another zzzp. She turns back and raises an eyebrow. He grins at her and says, "Just wanted to say that we will talk more later, Wondy. Byes." With that promise – and another zzzp – Barry Allen is gone.

Diana waits until the gold and red streak blurs away (it happens in less than a second) and disposes the cups. She wipes her hand with a tissue off the counter and walks out of the cafe, determined to find her way back to the floor where a personal quarters waits for her.

Maybe I'll rest for a while, she thinks.

Or maybe… Maybe she'll change and head to the training room. After all, after that last cringeworthy defeat, she does need some practice. Especially is she is to stand her own in this new world she has entered.

— — —

 ** _From:_** [Aquaman]

 ** _To:_** [Superman]

 _ **Subject:**_ RE: New recruit

 _Yes. Why not._

— — —

Diana enters her room – biometric scan and a quick keycode – and the first thing she does is to ensure that her door is locked before unbuttoning her shirt and easing out of her pants. She wants to get into her training gear and head over to the gym-of-sorts and the adjoining training room – where, ashamed as she is to admit it, she had her first loss in a very long while against the green Arrow, a fellow agent and founding member who had been absent today because he had commitments back home.

Diana notes as she folds her clothes that whoever is financing this whole operation and the Watchtower must be very rich indeed, because this place… 'wow' doesn't begin to cover it. The League is (at this point in time) very much smaller than the Amazons (who have been around for centuries) but their facilities seem much, much better and their technology is bleeding edge, state-of-the-art stuff.

All this – the suspicious international organization and the advanced science and the whole lot of money – would usually be cause for instinctive worry, but something about the people calms her gut.

As Diana picks up her clothes and walks towards the closet in the opposite end of the room, her eyes spot a tablet in the desk besides her desk. A tablet that she had not paid much attention to before she left the room in the morning.

She's curious, naturally.

Tossing her clothes into the closet and grabbing a pair of sweatpants and pulling them on, she plops down on her bed and reaches out to pick the tablet up.

It switches on automatically when her hand touches it and is does a quick holographic scan (so that explains why the full-body, DNA based biometric scan was required at her induction – it allowed the League to have fully secure tech coded to specific agents). Then it unlocks and confirms her ID. The tablet opens to a settings page and Diana quickly skims through it, ignoring most of the customization options, promising to herself that she will get to personalizing it later and gets started on the rest of the features the tablet offers.

And damn, does it offer some good features.

Not only does it seem to have some sort of self-contained, unlimited access and high-speed internet, the tablet also lets her access almost every national and international database she can think of, and then some more. A part of her mind wonders, is that even legal? Another part of her mind says, Diana, shush, this is coooool. On top of all that it also has a music/video player, file editors and even games. Damn.

Diana adds notes in the in-built software as she stumbles across important information and soon she clicks on an icon which opens up a secure League-only database listing possible allies across the world. She scrolls through it and is sort of glad when she sees both King Faraday and Steve Trevor, both of them good people and agents of the US government she had worked in the past. She then switches tabs and checks the League's database of hostiles. There is a Dr. Doris Zuel (Diana will not easily forget the psychotic doctor keeping her chained to a metal slab and experimenting on her) and she thinks she remembers coming across a 'Cheetah'.

A separate window contains another list. This one much shorter and comprised again, of hostiles. Each entry here is marked with different icons. This list, Diana realizes, is the list of top-priority threats to both global security and the League itself.

Diana sorts through the list: the Joker, Starro, Vandal Savage, Brainiac, D.A.R.K.S.E.I.D, Prometheus, Amazo, Anti-Monitor, Ra's al Ghul and the list goes on and on. But the name Lex Luthor is at the top and a small note reads 'Priority #1'.

Diana clicks on his name and a small window pops up,

 **Name: Alexander Joseph 'Lex' Luthor**

 **Base: Metropolis | International**

 **Beneath his public persona of a genius-level CEO of the Metropolis-based international business LexCorp—Lex Luthor proves to be a man of darker motives. There isn't much proof, but unconfirmed sources say that Luthor is behind the…**

The paragraph continues for a few more lines and then there are two more paragraphs that follow it detailing suspicions of Luthor's criminal activities/shady dealings and his front-end businesses. They also mention illegal experiments and other misuse of science. There is a comprehensive set of links, each of which open up to entire pages of more data.

Lex Luthor is a high-profile target, that much is obvious and Diana knows that she (they, actually) can't get access to him directly. She knows there are certain processes involved and she also knows that the League is interested in Luthor because the tiny icons that mark each entry on this list seem to represent each founder. Icons of approval for further investigation, sort of like.

She squints at the icons. There is a diamond-shaped shield with an 'S'—Superman. Right below that is a green arrowhead, obvious. A golden lightning bolt on a white circle—Where did I see that…?—It takes a moment but Diana remembers noticing it on Barry's belt-buckle, so that one represents Flash and then there is trident for Aquaman.

And below them all, there is a dark, silhouetted bat. Ah, Diana thinks, this must be him. The mysterious figure everyone seems to be wary of but doesn't know much about. The one they all seem to fear but at the same time, admire. She has never seen him before and he was absent today but whispers of him had reached her. Even within the Amazons.

Diana then checks the list of Luther's known associates and most of the names are new and strange to her but one stands out. A name that she has most definitely seen before and is familiar with. A name with prestige attached to it. A name shrouded in secrecy, though it held the entire media's attention. A name belonging to a suspicious figure who was very, very active in Metropolis' sister city, Gotham.

She performs a quick search on the guy and amongst a multi-page profile, Diana finds out that he has sizeable investments in LexCorp and that he personally does millions of dollars' worth of businesses with Lex Luthor.

"This guy," Diana mutters as she taps her chin thoughtfully, "this guy just might be an in."

Maybe she'll run some further checks on him by herself. Maybe she'll even pay him a visit. Unlike the Amazons, where all missions were handed out, the League operated differently. Here, there was equal say and permission to operate independently within reason. Superman had even said so in the meeting. "Feel free to conduct your own investigations."

(Barry had asked "Even if they are on my ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend?" and everyone had laughed, except Superman who simply smiled and shook his head.)

Diana smiles and stands up with purpose.

She just might not regret her decision to leave the Amazons and her past behind, after all.

* * *

 **A/N 2: I love reviews, people. My stories live and grow on them.**


	2. things are just gonna get fun

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: So, here is the revamped second chapter. The original was originally in AO3. Then I revamped that. So. Have fun reading. Hopefully.**

* * *

starting Bathack v3.4a at local server

connecting to SATELLITE/THEWATCHTOWER

open executable thewatchtowerhack exe

port: 10  
base: batcave::pc1  
base: batcave::pc2

[DATA] 1601 tasks, 18 servers, 121 log-in tries (base/batcave::pc1)  
[DATA] 1843 tasks, 12 servers, 133 log-in tries (base/batcave::pc2)

ACCESS GRANTED

command access server\CCTV

command open folder\traininggym

command open file\ WWsession3 mp4

FILE 4 opening… … … …

— — —

The League, Diana soon learns after her first meeting, is a most fascinating place.

She spends the day after her first meeting exploring the Watchtower, this time, with the holomap from the League tab in her hand. The first thing she learns is that the Watchtower is currently made up of six floors – or basements, depending on how you saw it – expanding below the ground, while construction on a few more floors is underway with the help of industrial robots and several humans who have signed close to a few hundred NDAs and paid well enough to keep quiet.

The fifth floor, the one above the one on the very bottom, is reserved as an armory and though the place is not yet fully outfitted, the equipment the League does have is all of the highest quality. She's pretty sure that some of the weapons on display aren't legal. Some others, Diana _knows_ , they aren't supposed to exist as anything more than conceptual drawings. The fourth and third floors together make up the gym and the training room and the second floor is mostly empty save for one corner where there is an espresso machine and assorted cafe-related stuff. There is no barista yet, but it doesn't worry Diana. Dr. Barry Allen's resume includes 'pretty badass at mixing drinks'.

The first floor is mostly an oversized reception area and the living quarters are all housed in the sixth floor. Diana hasn't exactly looked at each and every room but she knows that there are at least a hundred private compartments. Only about twenty of those are occupied as of now, though.

From what she's heard from Superman, she also knows that the recruiting process for the League is moving along faster than expected. Allies of the founders (herself not included because the Amazon women had a set-in-stone attitude about a life without men) were at the top of the list of recruits. She's seen a red-hooded fellow following the Green Arrow (who smirked at her and asked, "Want a rematch, Princess?") and also a moppy haired boy in a domino mask and blue insignia of some sort on his chest twirling around the gym, late at night.

The rest of the list of recruits is made up of civilians who have exhibited some sort of particular skill.

One of those civilian recruits is the agent who now goes by 'Hawkgirl'.

Diana meets Kendra Saunders on Kendra's first day in the League and shows her around. It begins as two women joining forces amidst a crowd of men – seeing as the League didn't have any other woman than Diana and Kendra right now – and then soon evolves into a good friendship. Kendra, Diana learns, is suffering from dissociative identity disorder (more commonly known as multiple personality disorder) and the other woman inhabiting Kendra's body is Shiera Hall/Priestess Chay-Ara.

While Kendra Saunders is just an intelligent woman with a normal life, despite being aware of the existence of Shiera… Shiera believes herself to be the two-hundred-and-seventh reincarnation of an Egyptian priestess: Chay-Ara. She is not a bad fighter and is fluent in Egyptian.

It's a little confusing to Diana.

Yet, with Shiera's skill in battle combined with Kendra's above-average intelligence and quick-grasp of strategy, she (they?) makes a good agent. Diana trusts that the rest of Superman's recruits will be as good.

She makes a note to maybe suggest adding King Faraday to the list.

From experience, she knows he is a committed agents and is a good-natured man. Someone who could, someone who did—it wasn't important. She didn't have time for nostalgia. She had a mission to do.

— — —

connected to SATELLITE/THEWATCHTOWER

port: 10  
base: batcave::pc1  
base: batcave::pc2

command create newfolder

newfolder created

command rename 'newfolder''WWsessions'

command open folder\traininggym

command specialselect# files… WWsession#.mp4

[INSERT] values for specialselect#?

command specialselect# values… 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 9; 10; 11; 12; 13

FILES SELECTED

move to folder\WWsessions

open executable batcavetransfer exe

— — —

So, between exploring, attending various meetings, drinking coffee and intense training sessions with Shiera and occasionally other Leagues, Diana's time is pretty much occupied. What little free time she has, Diana spends it on her L-Tab (the informal name being tossed around for the League tablet).

And the L-Tab proves to be a good friend and an excellent repository of information.

Within a week and two days, Diana learns all that she can – legally – about her target and creates a separate document where she adds all the key facts she can gather from various sources and then adds her own musings on the sideline.

* * *

" **For his enormous efforts in the 2014 Metropolis earthquake rescue effort, Gothamite [redacted] becomes both the first outsider and the youngest person ever to win the Metropolitan of the Year award…"**

 _Only four years older than me. Talented. Very talented at keeping up the good guy act._

"… **only wife was killed an year ago today in a gruesome shootout in front of the Gotham Merchant's Bank. As of yet, no information has been gathered on the shooters who are suspected to be related to one of the mob families that…"**

 _Married once and wife killed by the mob(?). Is it possible he has mob connections? Gotham has no shortage of mobs._

"… **was seen today at the Gotham Mall, shopping with his family on what trusted sources say is his daughter's birthday…"**

 _Single father. Seems dedicated to the family (note to yourself, Diana: even bad guys have families and love them). This guy has four sons and a daughter._

"… **alongside his multi-national business empire, he is the head of 8 different charities in Gotham City alone. In Metropolis, Central City, Coast City and Star City he has a further…"**

 _Multiple charities based in multiple cities (a cover allowing himself to travel easily?). International-level legal businesses. All part of the mask he has created. Exactly how much is he trying to hide? Also, how can a man multitask like he does?!_

"… **returned today after a sudden departure from his multibillion dollar company [redacted]. No one knows where he was gone in the years he…"**

 _Missing for a few years? Where did he go to? Who did he meet? Why did he leave?_

"… **company makes yet another business alliance with LexCorp, establishing the first LexTech branch here in Gotham today at…"**

 _Legal connections with Lex, a front to cover the more illegal connections. Probably._

* * *

Diana's list goes on.

She has tried reaching out to Superman as soon as she had collected all the data she had needed to justify her investigation, but he was out of the League at the time. But she's heard from a very wet and smiling Aquaman, who passed her on her way to the pool, that Superman is returning today, so maybe she'll go now and find him.

The sooner she can get to Superman, the sooner she can get leave to go to Gotham.

And the, all that would be left is to start working on toppling a villain. A minor one, maybe, but nonetheless, this one would simply be the first domino is a long line that ended with Lex Luthor.

— — —

"Prodigy, report."

"You sent us into the frying pan… did you know you were sending us into the frying pan?"

"The frying pan?"

"Themyscira. _Tt_. It was filled. And I mean _filled_ with Amazonian women. They had swords. Swords. _Tt_. And shields. Thank Ra's—"

"You do not thank Ra's for anything."

"Had it not been for Ra's, Nightwing would have been cut in half. _Tt_. I, obviously, saved him."

"Where is Dick?"

"Eating. I saved him, fa—"

"I'll listen to the whole story later, Damian, did you get what I sent you to get? The files?"

"Here."

"Thank you."

"I am leaving for dinner."

"I'll be there. In a while. Soon."

— — —

Diana finds Superman where she expected him to be (one of the many meeting rooms, converted into a makeshift office of sorts, where the man had made himself a second home) but what she doesn't expect is to see the man who he is conversing with.

She hadn't ever expected to see him, in fact, Diana was almost convinced that he was nothing more than whispers in the shadow, an urban myth.

A man clad all in black, in a suit that was seemingly painted onto his six-foot body with a sweeping black cape hanging off his shoulders. He's wearing a helmet (or is it a cowl?) with two pointy stubs at the sides. _Horns_ , Diana thinks for a moment and then corrects herself.

 _Not horns, Diana. Ears._

He's the Batman, she realizes. With that realization Diana understands just a little why even his name is only whispered. He is scary. Because the room is brightly lit, but Diana will swear on Hera that around him and just around him, the room seems darker and the lighting dims. He clearly has been in fights and in the light, she can see that his suit reflects it. It's scuffed, there a few scratches and even a bullet hole on it.

Diana doesn't mean to eavesdrop but she's not willing to—can't force herself to walk away. Every cell in her body is saturated by curiosity and she finds herself standing still besides the door, praying to her gods that she doesn't disrupt the conversation.

"…got the body working—Jordan helped…" Batman is speaking when he cut off by Superman.

"Jordan?"

"Yes. Interesting fellow, we'll need to keep an eye on him and his research. He could very well be a potential recruit. Maybe even the seventh. He's—"

"You were speaking about John?"

"Yes. I am aware," Batman growls, "Like I said, we have the body working but there are still issues with the neural interface and the 'brain' in general."

"Huh. Update me when there is something new?"

"Will do," Batman answers. "Anyway, I came here about the new girl. Anything I need to know?"

"You mean Kendra-slash-Shiera?" Superman asks with false innocence in his voice and Diana stifles a laugh because she knows that the Batman is here about herself and Superman is seemingly and knowingly trying to annoy him.

There is a moment of silence. Diana imagines a hard scowl on Batman's face. "No. The Amazon. Diana Prince. Wonder Woman. What can you tell me about her? Because I asked Green Arrow and he is definitely not in the mood to tell me anything other than the fact that he beat her and all the CCTV footage can show me is that she's ferocious."

Maybe she's dreaming, but Diana thinks she hears a tinge of admiration in Batman's voice.

Batman then starts to say, "The Amazons had er—" and Diana's interest stirs but before he can finish that statement, Batman stops speaking. She can't see either of them, because the two of them are turned away from her, so she doesn't know what happened. All she knows is she's screwed because Superman says, "Why don't you ask her yourself? She is right there."

 _Crap._

Diana walks out from behind her hiding spot and into the room, holding her head high and masking her embarrassment with indifference. "Hello boys," she greets them.

Batman turns to her and she can't see much of his face. Only a lightly stubbled chin and a scowling set of lips are visible and the rest of his face is hidden behind his cowl. She was definitely dreaming earlier. _This face? Admiration? Ha._

"I don't know whether to ask you why you were eavesdropping like a grounded child or why you would even call yourself a spy if you can't even eavesdrop on a simply conversation without getting caught," Batman says with a more pronounced scowl, giving a grinning Superman no chance to return his greeting. She can't see Batman's eyes behind the bright blue lenses of his cowl but Diana is ready and willing to make holy oaths on the entirety of the Olympian Pantheon that those are eyes are hard and cold and unforgiving and as cruel as—more cruel than Medusa's.

She wants to retort but doesn't get a chance. Batman turns to Superman and nods once, "I'll be by later. Wonder Woman, it was a pleasure to see you in person."

 _Yeah, right._

And then he turns with a dramatic swish of his cape and marches out.

Diana watches the dark figure until the doors slide close behind him and turn to Superman.

"So now you have seen the Batman," Superman offers, shrugging and still smiling. He pauses for a minute before adding, "What do you think?"

"He really does take the dark and gloomy thing to another level, doesn't he?" Diana asks.

Superman nods.

"Has he ever shouted 'I am the darkness!'" she quips and Superman breaks out in a controlled fit of laughter before schooling his face into a solemn expression.

"You know him more than you think." Superman says. Before she has a chance to ask what he means, his voice turns professional and he asks her, "So, Agent Prince, what do you want?"

 _Forget the Batman for now, Diana,_ she tells herself. _Get to the point._

"I… I might have a lead on a guy close to Lex Luthor."

— — —

 ** _From:_** [Batman]

 ** _To:_** [Arrow]

 _ **Subject:**_ Gift

 _Here is a little gift._

 _ATTACHMENTS:_ WWsession3 mp4

— — —

Ten minutes later, she's back in her room and packing to leave. The conversation with Superman had gone surprisingly easy and she had barely gotten out half the details. Superman, in what she thinks was a show of trust, didn't even ask her who her target was. It was good that he didn't, because out of her respect for the ancient Greek belief that names have power, she has not even typed his name in any of the documents she's created, much less say it out loud.

She knows it was probably just superstition, but she wasn't abandoning what was so inherently part of her culture.

Superman trusted her instincts and given her his blessings (in the form of permission) to whatever she needed to do, as long as she 'acted within reason' and within the League guidelines.

Now, all she had left to do was to get out into the real world and start the fieldwork.

In her browsing, Diana had found out that one of her target's sons was participating in an event at his school in a few days, which meant that being the dad-of-the-year-type scoundrel he was, her target would be attending the event.

Which would serve as an excellent event for her to make her introductions and enter his life.

Diana takes a moment to pray to all her gods in turn and set out of her room, stopping to take one look at it because she had really grown to love the room and should things go her way, the mission might take a while. She might miss the room.

To make the right first impression, she needed the right materials.

For that, she needed to go shopping.

— — —

Diana's in the elevator and pressing the button when she sees Superman come running towards her, signalling with his hands and asking her to wait a minute. "One thing I forgot to ask, Wonder Woman—"

"You can call me Diana, Superman," she winks. "I was never a civilian and do not have a civilian identity."

"Yeah. Alright, Diana. One thing I need to know, where exactly does this target of yours live?"

"Gotham City. Why?"

Superman starts to say something but doesn't get to finish it. The last thing she sees before the elevator doors close and the box starts moving upwards is a look of panic-stricken surprise in the face of a man whom she knows once ran into a burning building full of hostiles to ensure no innocent lives were lost.

 _Curious_ , she notes and then shakes her head. _Whatever he thinks, whatever he seems scared of, I'll prove him wrong._

She is no amateur.

And this guy? _Huh. This guy will be as easy as cake. Maybe even easier._

 _On that note,_ she thinks errantly as the doors slide open at the top and she steps out into the abandoned warehouse, _what was easier than cake?_

— — —

 ** _From:_** [Flash]

 ** _To:_** [Superman]

 ** _Subject:_** RE: WARNING

 _Hell no. Things are just gonna get fun and you wanna take that away from us? You wouldn't be so cruel would you?!_

ORIGINAL MESSAGE:  
 _Guys, I think Diana is investigating… well, Batman. I don't think she knows it. Do you think I should warn them? Or at least one of them?_

 _Don't tell me I didn't warn you._

* * *

 **A/N 2: Guys, really. Reviews are like the water to the seeds of ideas in the parched and dry land that is my mind. Seriously.**


	3. youre gonna wanna meet her

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is the third chapter of the League. Things are getting a little bit more... interesting. That's what I would say but then again, I'm biased. Read. Have fun.**

* * *

Gotham High's Sports Night, the event she expects to find her target in, turns out to be less about sports and more about partying. Or at least that's what it seems like to Diana Prince who leans against a wall with a glass of quite-possibly spiked punch at the far end of the main hall, away from the spotlights, quietly observing the room.

The main events – a few brief speeches, some award for all the students who were accomplished sportsmen, some slide shows and etc – have all finished and now the students are simply milling about doing everything from dancing to shouting at each other. Some couples are huddled close to walls and are 'making out'. The parents, or at least those who cared enough to attend, are spread out in all directions.

Diana has her eye set on her target, who is currently on the phone after having talked to and heartily congratulated all his sons. He is not going to disappear anytime soon, she figures. Looking around, she decides to start her investigation on the ground elsewhere.

She pushes off the wall and drains her glass before setting it on a nearby table and makes her way through the throngs of people, a mixture of students and teachers and parents, until she spots someone who could serve very well as her investigation's starting point. He is pacing a short distance in one corner and is on the phone with someone, smiling and laughing. Diana inches her way closer and hears his side of the conversation.

"Yeah, yeah. And I'll repeat it once again, thank you, babe. No," he pauses, "No." He runs his hand through his moppy hair and laughs before continuing. "Yeah, I know. You are okay, right? Star City is not—well, yeah. Gotham is equally… You could say that. Yeah. Got it."

She watches him fiddle with his suit jacket and his face lighten up further as he whispers a 'I love you' into the phone and pockets it, before turning towards the crowd. He walks past her. _Now is the time,_ she tells herself and spins around and walks towards him in a few quick steps and taps him lightly on the shoulder.

"Excuse me," Diana says.

He turns around and smiles warily at her. "Yeah?"

"I just wanted to say, erm…" she flounders for a second, "congratulations on the awards. You've accomplished quite a lot. Here."

"Thanks," he says pleasantly and turns to walk away. _Damn._

"You're welcome," she replies quickly and extends a hand. Her mind is set on not letting slip away, not before she gets something useful out of him, and doesn't stop to think. So she lets her voice take a slightly different tone and asks: "Would you like to dance?"

 _Great, Diana. Why don't you bat your eyelashes while you're at it?_

The guy smiles. His face brightens in what seems like subdued amusement. He clears his throat before speaking. "I'm sorry. I didn't get a chance to introduce myself. My name name is Richard Grayson, and you are Mrs…?"

 _Mrs?! Really?_ "Miss," she corrects him. "Diana Prince." Richard's entire face changes for but an instant. His eyes gleam for a moment, his look becomes more focused. Then it returns to normal and he smiles warmly. She continues, "I'm a guest. And for what it's worth, I already knew who you were. The stage and award and the multiple mentions and all…"

Grayson chuckles.

"Ah." Grayson considers that bit of information for a moment and then continues, "Well Miss Prince, some here might consider it a little bit unorthodox, but sure," he pauses to take her hand in his own and lightly kiss it, "I would love to dance with you. Just excuse me for a moment, though."

He lets go of her hand and Diana watches as he turns the other way, types something into his phone quickly and then slides it into his jacket again. He takes her hand again and offers an apology before starting to walk.

Hand-in-hand and feeling strangely trapped and mostly foolish, despite the fact that Grayson is just a twenty year old, Diana walks towards the middle of the room.

To dance.

— — —

 **[06.32pm] B:** Dick, I'll be a little late to the event.

 **[06.35pm] Me:** its okay, B

 **[06.36pm] B:** I've got a chemical analysis to run.

 **[06.36pm] B:** And a data recovery.

 **[06.40pm] Me:** on the themyscira stuff, i know

 **[06.40pm] B:** I will be there.

 **[06.42pm] Me:** i know, B

 **[06.42pm] Me:** i also know Alfred has riding you to make sure you don't miss this

 **[06.42pm] B:** …

 **[09.27pm] Me:** b, ive got someone you might be interested in

 **[09.27pm] Me:** youre gonna wanna meet her

— — —

Richard Grayson is many things, Diana finds out during the course of a light waltz around the room. Grayson leads. Very well, too. He also keeps a respectable and polite distance between them. Some part of Diana is insulted and thinks _is he not even slightly interested in me? Is he gay?_ Another part of her admires him, though what exactly she is admiring him for… she doesn't know.

After some initial catcalls and shouts, the crowd has gone silent. Mostly. The silence, though slightly unnerving, allows her to have a conversation with Grayson. And while she does learn quite a lot about him – he fences, does a mixture of martial arts, swims, is not a fan of football, is adopted and has a girlfriend who is currently away – a gut feeling says there is more to him than what lies on the surface, but she doesn't get a chance to proceed any further.

"Enough about me," he says after having good-naturedly answered all her pointed questions about himself. "Why don't you tell me a little about yourself, Miss Prince?"

"You can call me Diana."

He smiles. "Alright, then. Why don't you tell me a little about yourself, Diana?"

She doesn't want to make him wary. Not when everything has been going smoothly so far – not counting her asking him to dance, but she even turned that to her advantage – and certainly not before she gets to at least get a trickle of information out of him about her original target. _It's curious,_ she realizes, _that his answers never revealed too much._

So she smiles and nods. "Okay, what do you want to know?"

He doesn't speak immediately. He twirls her on the dance floor and crosses another couple, a pair of students, and then settles into the previous light rhythm before asking "You're new to Gotham, I'm guessing?"

"Yes," she answers. "You guess right."

"How long have you been here? In Gotham, I mean."

 _Less than a day._ "A few days. Not long enough to know a lot about the city." She chuckles quietly.

"Ah, I see. Gotham can be a lot to take in for first timers. Let's start easy, what do you know about the city?"

 _Gotham City, previously known as Gotham Town during the 17th century. Current Mayor is Jonathan Hayes, first in a long time to be suspected as being_ not _corrupt. Sister city to Metropolis. Most of the city was given life to by the Waynes, who have been and still are central to the city's progress and development. Most powerful city in terms of the businesses that control it, but the crime levels too are surprisingly high. Home to the controversial psychiatric center Arkham Asylum. A good part of the city is under the control of the Falconis and Maronis. Police force suspected to be largely corrupt_.

All the information flashes through her mind, but Diana simply chooses a vague non-answer: "Not nearly enough."

Grayson makes a noncommittal noise. She doesn't know what it means. "Why are you in the city?"

 _To investigate a potential who is quite possibly working with Lex Luthor._ "Business."

"Business. Interesting. May I ask what is your business?"

"I'm…" she thinks for a moment, "a businesswoman and a liaison of sorts." _It was sort of right,_ she justifies her answer to herself. She did have a degree in business (the Amazons were all very well educated) and it could be said that she was the Amazon-League liaison.

"Hm. Why are you in Gotham High?"

 _To investigate a potential who is quite possibly working with Lex Luthor._ "Pleasure."

"What sort of pleasure would a beautiful woman like you find her? I mean, you're clearly not related to anyone here… I've seen the people of Gotham High and they… well…"

 _A compliment?_ "Was that a compliment?" Grayson nods. _Is that appropriate?_ "Is that appropriate?"

"Depends on how you choose to receive it."

She thinks she blushes. She laughs. "Thanks, then. And no, I am not related to anyone. Here on my own. But then again, aren't these sorts of events in Gotham somewhat of a social gathering? I'm pretty sure there are others present who have no relation whatsoever to students of Gotham High?"

Grayson accepts her answer. "Fair enough. So, pleasure to you is a taste of the Gotham society?"

 _Pleasure to me is many things, Mr Grayson_ , she wants to say. But she doesn't want to flirt with a twenty year old. So she instead says, "You could say that."

"You're a woman of mystery and a vague answers, eh?"

She doesn't expect this sort of acute awareness from him. Not only was Grayson asking some curious questions, he was also paying attention to her carefully chosen answers. Something she had not expected from most men who talked to her, much less held her in their arms. Add that to his careful maintenance of distance… here was was kid who seemed in control. Immune. _Rare. Dangerous._

"I prefer to keep details of my life to myself," Diana answers with a note of shyness, "especially when I don't know much about the man I am with."

"Wise."

"Thank you."

Grayson smiles and spins her on her feet and pulls her back to him, "May I ask why you are with me? You did ask to dance, after all."

Diana takes a deep breath. Here was the question she feared. A question that was entirely valid, perfectly logical and probably flicking through the minds of the catcalling, whistling crowd. The question running through the minds of the jealous men, the envious boys, the shocked women and the startled girls.

She takes a quick moment to think and decides to answer honestly. At least partially. She chooses an answer that she can use to ease her way into the subject of her target. "I'm not. I mean, I am. But… I just wanted to talk to you to ask some questions about…" Diana trails off.

"About?"

"About your father. Get to know what I can, you know, before actually speaking to him. I've heard a lot about in many circles… and well… In simple words, I admire him. I'm just here for him, really."

Grayson grins. Again, for a moment, that gleam and the focused look is back and then gone. "Ah. This I do understand."

"So?"

"So what?"

"What can you tell me about him? Anything in particular about his likes or dislikes? Does he hate it when people approach him? Moods? Does he have a short temper? What can you tell me about his businesses?" The questions tumble out of her. She knows she shouldn't make him suspicious, but she thinks she is playing the excited _fangirl_ -role very well.

She doesn't get an answer from Grayson. Instead, he just slows the dance to a stop – though the music still plays – prompting the crowd to start a slow, reluctant clap. She smiles and bows with Grayson's hand still on her hip and she turns to him, waiting for an answer.

He doesn't seem like he plans on answering, so she opens her mouth to repeat the question when she feels someone tap her on the shoulder.

She twists around.

"May I have the pleasure of this dance, Miss…?"

Richard Grayson slowly removes his hand from her and stands smartly, expectantly. He suddenly exudes a military discipline. Diana swallows audibly.

"You may leave, Dick." Grayson nods at the intruder, _winks_ at Diana and walks away without any comment or question. "Miss…?"

Diana swallows audibly again. She doesn't know why, but she doesn't feel like an agent of the League now. She doesn't feel like an Amazon of Themyscira. She doesn't feel like Wonder Woman. She feels nervous. Agitated. Tense. Edgy. Brittle. "I'm Diana," she says in a voice that sounds strange even to herself, "Diana Prince."

"Miss Prince." She watches with widening eyes as the man get closer her and places a hand on her hip. His fingers are warm and through the thin material of her dress, she can feel it's roughness. He pulls her towards him and traps her between a solid wall of muscles and a strong grip. He motions towards the DJ to restart the music and whispers close to her ear.

"I'm Wayne," he says. "Bruce Wayne."

* * *

 **A/N 2: Soooo... didya like? Didya love it? You liked it, didntya? Ah. Doesn't matter. Do leave your comments cuz I appreciate them. I also happen to have news. I will be uploading the first chapter of the League #2 — ARROW: With a Vengeance soon. It is set in the same universe and while the plot is wholly different, there will be interconnected stuff. Like details of Diana's defeat at Oliver's hands. If you could take the time to read and review that as well... I'd be a happy man.**

 **Also coming up is NIGHTWING/PRODIGY: Into the Fire, the first League one-shot. It'll be small and about that totally cool time when Nightwing and Prodigy broke into the Amazon headquarters. It'll be fun.**


	4. it sounded to me like he was flirting

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Remember how I said I was revamping chapters I had already written and posted in AO3? Yeah? That's not happening anymore. The story moves forward now at the same time, both over there and over here. So... Yay for me for managing that and for actually getting the fourth chapter done.**

 **In this chapter, Diana dances with Bruce. The actual plot reveals itself, with the villains and other supporting characters and references to the as-of-yet unreleased one-shot in the League series. And we also learn a little about Diana's past. Which for some reason felt weird for me to write.**

* * *

 **BATCAVE/SHARED COMMUNICATION SERVER**

 **[userID/batman]:** extract from top secret file on Amazon physiology by Dr Dessa:

[...] ...the research has successfully been able to change an Amazon's physiology to such extent that the process of diaphoresis (sweating/perspiration) in an Amazon can now be selectively disabled.

The eccrine glands and the apocrine glands remain unchanged to keep thermoregulation possible in an Amazon, but selective alteration has been done to how the glands receive neurotransmitters from the hypothalamus as opposed to the amygdala, prefrontal cortex, insular cortex and cingulum. This selective modification ensures that perspiration during flight or fight moments are greatly decreased and perspiration due to emotional worry from the sympathetic nervous system is almost nonexistent.

Due to this, an Amazon can successfully... [...]

 **[userID/nightwing]:** TL;DR, anyone? Tim? Please?

 **[userID/redrobin]:** TL;DR: Amazons don't sweat when nervous.

— — —

Diana Prince knows how nervousness works, conceptually. When encountering a potential threat, years of evolution allows the brain to send signals from the pituitary glands to the adrenal glands in the kidney immediately making them work on redirecting major blood flow to the heart and muscles so that a person may make a split-second decision to either fight or take flight and do it successfully.

She has even felt nervous on a few occasions. The first time she felt this particular feeling was when she fought the Amazon's Army General Phillipus during the final course of her training. The last time she felt it was when she fought against Circe in Norway, on her last mission before she left the Amazons and joined the League.

But now she realizes, being an Amazon has robbed her of the ability to truly feel nervousness. To feel nervous as others did. Right now, she can feel her entire body fighting against a thousand—a million pinprick sensations all over her that make her feel cold. Though she rationally knows the chances of her actually perspiring are microscopic, Diana can feel her body wanting to sweat, simply out of anxiety.

That is the effect that Bruce Wayne is currently having on her.

 _And,_ Diana thinks, _he doesn't even seem the least bit villainous._

After rudely interrupting what was a really nice dance with a really nice boy and introducing himself, Bruce Wayne leads her in a dance for the length of one song. He doesn't talk as he leads and keeps his eyes on her. His mouth is curved up in slight smile. His hands keep a firm hold on her, and they are rough but refined.

As they dance, Diana wants to talk and talk roughly but she doesn't—she can't and her eyes flicker all around them; to the audience who watch them in silence, to Grayson who stands amongst the crowd with a smirk and to Bruce Wayne, who holds her captive. Her mouth too, is smiling, but it is tight and forced. Her hands, one trapped in Wayne's and the other lying on his shoulder, feel prickly and ticklish.

The dance ends and Wayne carefully leads them out of the dance floor and towards the door that leads out of the large main hall, paving a path through the hushed crowd. It doesn't take much effort because the crowd automatically retreat as the six-foot-two frame of Bruce Wayne nears them. Arriving at the doors, Wayne steps forward and opens the door for her to pass through.

As soon as they are on the other side, he turns to look at her. "Miss Prince, thank you for that dance. I would love to stay and spend some more time with you," he pauses and takes a quick look at his wristwatch, "but I'm afraid I have a late meeting to attend to."

She nods, though disappointment courses through her. She doesn't have any new data on Wayne. Other than what she learned from the internet and the fact that he is a giant of a man who could make her instincts scream with a feeling she has never felt before in the presence of a man.

She does her best to hide the disappointment. "It was my pleasure, Mr Wayne." When she hears her voice, Diana is glad to find that she has at least part of her normal composure back. Maybe the nervousness was just from the sudden appearance Wayne. Or maybe her gut somehow could feel what a dark and secretive and dangerous man he truly was. But right now it is only a background hum, despite a loud and persistent one, and she is thankful for it. "And please, don't let me keep you."

He flashes a smile at her and picks up her hand. "Miss Prince, I hope you don't find this too forward, but would you consider having lunch with me, tomorrow?"

 _Well, girl, say yes already_ squeals one part of her and she smothers it. Another part of her starts concocting a plan. A perfect trap for Bruce Wayne. Playboy. Billionaire. Associate of Lex Luthor. Wolf-in-Sheep's-clothing. This would be the perfect chance to get him to open up a little; let him preen and primp and show off. Weave a web of seduction and use everything that Aphrodite has blessed her with and make this fool fall right into it.

She feels her confidence grow again and the nervousness fade as she smiles coyly and answers, "Yes."

Wayne smiles warmly. It doesn't seem faked and that bothers her. "Great. Why don't you tell me where to pick you up?"

"I wouldn't want to bother you,"— _or have you know where I stay_ —"and I'd love to find the way to the restaurant myself. It helps me learn the city. Just let me know where we'll be meeting?"

Wayne's smile grows into a grin. He lightly kisses her hand which he still holds and backs down two steps. He buttons his suit jacket and says: "Wayne Manor."

Then he turns and walks away, not giving her a chance to respond. _Wayne Manor?_ _His private residence?_ Diana watches with her mouth slightly open in shock as his large frame makes it way out of the door at the end of the long hallway. _On a first date? Was this a first date?_ She stands there – a few steps outside the main hall – for a few more minutes as a few students from inside the hall peer outside and make a show of walking away. _Did you just make a stupid move?_ She is still standing there when Richard Grayson comes out and stands beside her.

"So, Wayne Manor," Grayson says with a hint of laughter at his voice and proceeds to instruct her on the route to take. She nods as he speaks. "B rarely invites people to the manor. Not even two complete hours with you and you've been invited. Miss Prince, you must be special."

Diana gulps.

Grayson walks away.

That feeling, that loud and persistent hum, it was coming back. Louder. More persistent. Pinprick sensations. A callback to Circe standing over her in the light snow, almost victorious. A biological need to sweat. An instinctual need for some form of physical release. A fleeting memory of the touch of Io. A craving. A… nervousness.

Diana takes a deep breath and uses every ounce of her will to tamp down the rising torrent of feelings. She then shakes her head and walks towards the door. Outside, she walks to the car park and climbs into her Mercedes Benz. She spends a minute looking up the directions to Wayne Manor in her navigational system and then drives off to the room she has booked in Gotham Royal Hotel, a look of fierce determination masking her face.

Tomorrow, she has date with Bruce Wayne.

The same Bruce Wayne who could manage to incite her nerves. Bruce Wayne who owned a considerable part of Gotham City. Bruce Wayne who was still a mystery, after a thousand web pages' and an evening's worth of knowledge.

Tomorrow, she wasn't going on a date. She wasn't going on lunch with a charming billionaire or a deceitful man. _No._ She was going to war. And Athena help her, she needed a battle plan.

— — —

The Amazon warrior stands guard in her place as the doors to the meeting chamber open and Hippolyta walks in, flanked on either side by her personal guard. Hippolyta responds to the warrior's greeting and then walks decisively towards the center of the room where the rest of the heads of the Amazons all stand around a circular table.

"Sit." Queen Hippolyta commands after greeting the Amazons. They all follow her order silently. "Report."

The Amazon woman sitting opposite Hippolyta – General Phillipus – speaks. "Your Majesty, when yo—when Diana left us, she managed to do so without leaving a trace. We suspected at the time that she could have had outside help and that she had betrayed us, in that she had chosen to leave the Amazons and join another organization."

Hippolyta's voice is controlled and barely above a whisper when she asks, "Has she?"

"Frankly, we do not know, your Majesty." General Philippus answers, "However recent events have made us consider alternate possibilities."

"Recent events?"

"The infiltration." Phillipus says and nods toward another Amazon – Phillipus' right hand – seated beside her. The second Amazon stands up and walks towards a computer terminal nearby. She presses a few buttons and a projector powers up. A few seconds later, a holographic display in the middle of the table is displaying several small screens, each displaying footage from different security camera.

Hippolyta watches in silence. One screen shows a man in a black and blue stealth-suit hack into an Amazon computer. Another shows him carefully disable, without killing, an Amazon standing guard near the entrance to the server room. Yet another shows him walking purposefully, as if he had no concerns about being in Amazon territory, through a long corridor.

"Enlarge that," Hippolyta says, pointing towards the last screen. It blows up on screen and the footage shows the same man fight ferociously against a handful of Amazons and hold his own for a good while. But the Amazons are too much for him and soon, he is overcome. The footage pauses when Hippolyta speaks again. "The intruder fought well, but he is clearly defeated. I do not see why this would trouble us in any way."

Phillipus looks indecisive for a moment. "There is more to the footage. Melia?"

The Amazon at the computer presses play again and the footage continues. On the black and white screen, the intruder stands at swordpoint surrounded by twelve Amazons. All of them enraged and battle-ready. The intruder is speaking, directing his words to the Amazon in front of him – General Phillipus herself.

"What is he saying, General?"

"He was not pleading." Phillipus says, and a note of respect tinges her voice. Hippolyta raises an eyebrow. "He was… it sounded to me like he was flirting."

"Flirting?"

"Yes. And he refused to give his name or identity or anything usable. His voice was masked by a modulator, but we couldn't see one visible and when I tried to take off his mask…" Phillipus points to the screen which displays her reaching out to the intruder's face and then withdrawing her hands as if in great pain. "It had defenses. I'd say about… 10 milliamperes of defenses."

"But he escaped?"

Phillipus nods.

"How?"

Yet again, Phillipus points to the screen and all the Amazons in the room watch the footage, leaning forward. A second passes, then two. Suddenly, from the corner of the screen, a figure rushes in, a long sword in hand. The swordsman makes his way through the Amazons with a controlled savagery that shocks the audience watching the security footage. A few more seconds later, all the Amazons are on the ground, writhing in pain. Alive, but hurt. The swordsman speaks a few words to his partner and both of them disappear.

Hippolyta speaks after a moment. "Any more footage of the two?" When she sees Phillipus shake her head somberly, she asks, "Do we know what was stolen?"

"Yes. The first intruder made his way to the server room and extracted information from the hard drives. The second one, the one we didn't see on-camera until the rescue of his partner… it was hard to figure out exactly where he had been, but… we found that files were missing from various rooms and a certain personal quarter had been rifled through. All the information, the files, the room that was broken into… the intruders wanted to know as much as they could about Diana."

Hippolyta takes a deep breath. She stands up and turns to leave. Phillipus speaks, her usually steady voice trembles as she calls after Hippolyta, "Your Majesty, there is a reason I said we were considering alternate possibilities." Hippolyta doesn't speak. Phillipus continues, "We believe that due to the nature of the infiltration and the information taken, it is possible that Princess Diana is kidnapped and held hostage by…"

"By?" Hippolyta turns back to Phillipus and asks with deadly calm, "Do we at least know who may be holding my daughter hostage?"

Phillipus nods. "The second intruder? The swordsman? The first point of interest about him is his choice of weaponry. Other than us, we haven't come across many who choose a sword to take into the field of battle. It's curious, at the least. The second… it's the way he fought and the skillset he exhibited."

"What about it?" Hippolyta asks.

"Those skills? We've only seen it with one particular organization. It's irrefutable proof of training under Ra's al Ghul. And the Demon's Head doesn't train anyone but his own."

— — —

Diana stands in front of the mirror in the luxury bathroom of her suite in the Gotham Royal Hotel. She stares at the image of herself and sees uncertainty and apprehension clouding her usually bright eyes.

She shakes her head and unwraps the fluffy towel wrapped around her and lets it drop on the marble floor. In the mirror, Diana can see a different energy surrounding her naked body – one of fierce determination – not unusual before any mission – but it is mixed in with something she had reacquainted herself with only this evening, nervousness. She steps over the towel on the floor and walks into shower cubicle and slides the door close. Diana turns a knob in the wall and the showerhead starts spraying her with warm water.

On the way to the hotel from the Gotham High event, Diana had prayed to Athena and racked her brain and tried to figure out the best way to tackle Bruce Wayne. Many options presented themselves during the drive, but none of them made her feel confident enough to actually carry them out. The plans would be foolproof, more or less, Diana knew that. _But not the subject of her plans._ However clever she managed to structure her plans, something in her gut told her Bruce Wayne would have no trouble ruining them.

Now in the shower, she tries to profile her mark as best as she can. It doesn't work. All she can can think of is the feel of his rough hands holding her in place against the solid wall of his body. Images of Io flash in her mind, soft and warm and smooth and tender. Diana cringes, unable to figure out why thinking of the battle ahead – the lunch with the wolf Wayne – provokes locked memories of Io to bubble to the surface.

Diana reaches out and turns the temperature of the water from mildly warm to freezing cold, then increases the pressure of the spray and stands underneath the powerful jet of ice-cold water.

It doesn't help.

— — —

The secure communications device, ever present by the Doctor's side rings shrilly and she presses a button and mechanically types in her security code, answering the call. "Speak."

"The Amazons think Diana is captured by Ra's al Ghul. The Demon's Head." The voice on the other end says. She knows that there is good reason for the Amazon's belief, having also gone through the Amazon HQ's security footage at length, thanks to her partner within the Amazons, whose ambitions paired well with her own.

"Yet, your voice says there is a 'but'."

"You've seen the footage, of course," the voice says, "The swordsman is most definitely trained by Ra's al Ghul. Nothing else explains his… Nothing else explains him. But the other one, he wasn't. He was skilled, sure – he managed to fight back, and fight well, against twelve Amazons – but his training didn't come from Ra's…" The voice trails off, letting her fill in the rest on her own.

She hadn't really paid much attention to the other one in the security footage but now that she thinks about it, her partner's words make some sense. The other one was most definitely not trained by the Demon's Head, and this was odd. The fact that an agent trained by Ra's had worked with one not trained by Ra's meant that against all odds, the intruders who had infiltrated Themyscira were not from the League of Assassins. They were either independent agents who joined forces or more likely, part of a larger organization that had managed to keep itself unheard of.

Multiple possibilities run through her mind as to what could have happened to Princess Diana, the heir of the Amazons. Whatever had happened, the fact that Diana was not with the Amazons right now only served the Doctor's cause.

But still, if the Doctor could find Diana, it could help. _Oh yes, it most certainly could._ She brings the communications device closer to her mouth and speaks slowly to her partner. "You keep watch of Hippolyta and make sure she believes that Ra's al Ghul is behind her daughter's disappearance."

"I will. And you?"

"I… will figure who the intruders truly were and…" She allows herself a small smile and imagines Diana tied up and bound in her lab, "…what connection they have to the Princess."

* * *

 **A/N 2: Was this too much? Too many characters introduced and all that? If yes, I'm sorry. Also, what do you think of the little itty bitty references made to Diana's past with Io? Reviews please?**

 **And I know, in the previous chapter's notes, I said that NIGHTWING/PRODIGY: Into the Frying Pan was supposed to be released before this... but that got delayed. If anyone was interested in reading that — and I'm sure not many were** **— I'm sorry, yet again.**


	5. you've entered the wolf's den

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: So, I am not going to postpone this any longer so here is the fifth chapter of the first entry to the League alternate universe series and I'm just writing stuff here for fun... In all seriousness, this is mooostly a filler chapter. The next will be meaty and then the seventh/eighth chapters will have some asskicking awesomeness.**

 **Furthermore, I have, after promising it for so long, finally managed to write and finish writing the one-shot set in the League universe. Called 'NIGHTWING/PRODIGY: Into the Frying Pan'. If you'd check that and leave a review... muchos gracias.**

* * *

"You will reach your destination in two minutes."

Diana Prince stares at the mammoth mansion rise in the distance as her Mercedes drives up the wide road leading to Wayne Manor. Far out in the outskirts of Gotham City, the Bruce Wayne's residence looks less like a manor and more like a large castle compound. It's a small city disconnected from the urban landscape of Gotham – a country in and of itself, ruled by its king, Wayne.

The stretch of distance between the edge of the city and where she is now is long, and till now Diana had been pressing her foot down to the accelerator, urging the car forward. Now, with the Wayne Manor looming and visible in the distance, she pulls her leg back from the pedal, slowing the car down to a crawl.

"Hera help me." Diana mutters to herself. She prays to the goddess of women and marriage for a moment before realizing that Hera can't be much help to her. Sure, Hera was the patroness of the Amazons, but she was not very good at confronting and/or battles. Those were the specialty of another goddess. She corrects herself. "Athena help me."

The detached female voice – the one she's dubbed 'Mercedes' – in the car's navigation system speaks again, as if replying to her request for help. "You will reach your destination in one minute."

Diana glances at the rear view mirror and adjusts her hair. She whispers phrases of encouragement to herself and then forces a smile on her face. It changes her whole face and a surge of determination courses through her. Maybe her plans wouldn't be of much use. Maybe Wayne would upset them as soon as he welcomed her in. But plans and a formidable intellect weren't the only assets she had.

She looked down at the dress she now wore, bought for an insane amount of money hours after she set out from the Watchtower to come investigate Wayne. She had resisted from wearing it to her first meeting with Wayne and though she didn't know it then, she realized now that it was a very good move that she didn't. Away from the public setting, in his own home, wined and dined… her mind was abuzz with the possible ways of coercing information from Wayne. None of them were carefully laid out or cleverly constructed. In fact, they were quite the opposite.

Carefully guiding her car inside the outer walls of the manor through the open gate, Diana flicks another glance at the mirror. To her surprise, she finds that her smile is now genuine. "Aphrodite," she calls out to the goddess above, "I thank you."

— — —

Bruce Wayne sits in his seat in front of the Batcomputer. The large screen in front of him refreshes on command to display an impressive array of information that he has managed to secure on the Amazon with a little detective work and some legwork from Dick and Damian. He highlights a few key points, points of interest, on the data – all of which he has read through multiple times – and adds a few notes of his own. _This woman_ , an errant thought runs through his mind, _is quite… fascinating._

Leaning back in his seat, he pulls up the footage that Clark had captured during the Norway mission. On the screen, Diana Prince fights a fully armed and armoured soldier, handling a sword and shield with excellent form. As he watches the unsteady footage, an appreciative smile forming in his face, the intercom on his desk activates.

"Hey B," Dick greets.

Bruce presses a button on his seat and opens his line in the intercom. "Dick."

"Um, your date is almost here." A hint of controlled laughter is in Dick's voice. "She has just entered the compound and parked her car and is getting off it and–MAN!"

The sudden exclamation alerts him. He sits up straight. "What?"

Dick whistles slowly. Understanding now why his eldest had found it necessary to exclaim loudly, Bruce resists the urge to roll his eyes. "Have you been spying on Ms. Prince?"

Another voice speaks through the intercom before Dick has a chance to answer. It's Jason. "Ever since the blip appeared on the radar," he says in a bored voice.

Joining Jason now is the voice of Damian, " _Tt_." Damian's voice, filled with disdain, continues, "It is a most despicable thing that Richard is doing, Father. You must discipline him. I recommend–"

Whatever recommendation that Damian was about to give – and Bruce is very sure that it would have involved something learned, undoubtedly, from the League of Assassins – is cut off by Dick's cheery voice. "B. get yourself up here. The lady is at the doorstep, and she – if you don't mind me saying so – is looking fine…"

Bruce stands up to go freshen up before greeting his guest. He can't walk out to meet the mysterious Miss Prince in his sweaty t-shirt and pants. "Tell Alfred to welcome her and show her around. I'll be there soon."

The only thing he hears in answer is a half-whispered question from Dick, more to himself than anyone else. "I need to get Babs a dress like _that…_ "

— — —

A bell rings somewhere inside.

It is very silent, what with the thick walls of the Wayne Manor muting the already low, soft bell, but Diana Prince has excellent hearing. Not even actively trying, she hears a quite, stiff-but-not-stiff set of footsteps, growing louder until they stop in front of the closed door ahead of her. A moment later, the massive oak door slides open an inch.

A thin man in a butler's uniform stands in front of her, smiling patiently. "Alfred, Miss Prince," he introduces himself in a regal British accent as he gestures her to come in. "Master Wayne has been awaiting your arrival."

She steps inside the threshold of the Wayne Manor, silently praying to the gods. The foyer is not massive, but it is still large and just by crossing over the threshold, she can feel the vast expanse of the manor. Ahead of her, she can see the Great Hall, and beyond it a wide, circling staircase that leads upstairs. As Alfred leads her in and up a short set of stairs and goes into the Great Hall. As she follows him, Diana admires at the paintings that adorn the walls. She recognizes many of them as the works of various masters, and knowing the kind of wealth that Wayne has, she is sure that they are all originals.

Alfred walks silently ahead of her, leading her to what she assumes is the drawing room. On the way, in the right wall of the large hall, she sees a portrait on the wall that she doesn't recognize. She stops to look at it. In a large wooden frame, the masterfully painted portrait shows a beautiful woman seated on a simple, elegant chair. In her arms, she holds a blue-eyed toddler, who is smiling almost mischievously. Standing behind the woman, with a proud smile in his face is a large man whose face seems strangely familiar.

Everything about the painting radiates a sense of warmth and joy, that for a minute, makes her think back to her childhood in her mother's arms. It draws her in. After a few moments, realizing that Alfred is waiting for her, she turns and walks away, but not before casting one last look at it.

"That is a painting of Master Wayne's parents." Alfred offers quietly as they walk again, not that she hasn't already guessed it. "It was commissioned by Mr and Mrs Wayne in a time when things were much simpler. It's been far too long since things were simple." There is a just a slight hint of sadness in the butler's voice. A moment passes and he snaps out of it. "Master Wayne will join you shortly."

He opens a tall door, flanked on either sides by two full suits of knight armor, gleaming and polished. She walks inside. Leaving the door open, Alfred smiles politely at her and tells her to make herself at home. Then he adds, "If you wish to peruse the Manor's collection of art, the gallery is that way."

"Is that a polite way of saying that Master Wayne is going to be late?" Diana smiles at the butler. The offer is tempting because Diana has always appreciated art, but within the confines of her target's residence, she doesn't feel as if she has time to actually appreciate art.

Alfred grins for a moment, and his eyes twinkle. "I can't comment on that, Miss Prince, but I have repeatedly found that it is always useful to be prepared in things relating to the young master." Smiling now, he turns and leaves, closing the door behind him.

Now alone in the drawing room, she turns to take a proper look at it. Though not as massive as the the great hall of the manor, the room is enormous. In the wall opposite the door she are two doors, one straight ahead of her and the other in the far left side of the room. On the wall on her right is a massive fireplace, with unburnt logs in it, and another large framed painting above it.

The room is furnitured in a style that blends the themes of both modern and classical. There is large antique oak table on end and there is a moderately sized (still large, though) television on the other. There are antique seats in front of the fireplace. The walls here, just like the great hall, are decorated by very, very expensive paintings.

As she walks towards a seat, she notices another painting just like the one in the great hall. Oddly enough, right beside the painting of Mr and Mrs Wayne – which is on the wall opposite the fireplace – is another eerily similar one. _Odd. Very odd,_ she notes, but doesn't pay any further attention to it. Having read up about Bruce Wayne's lavish lifestyle, she assumes it was just an eccentric decision to somehow pay tribute to his parents. _Still,_ she muses, _Wayne is not a fool. Or an eccentric._

"So, you've entered the wolf's den," Diana says to herself as she sits down in the slightly oversized chair. She leans back, and starts mentally preparing herself for Wayne's arrival. She pictures the first time she was him, only the day before, in the Gotham High Sports Night event.

The first image that pops into her mind is his massive frame, soon followed by his seemingly not-faked smile. Then his eyes materialize in her imagination, a deep blue that managed to unsettle her all too easily.

Then she thinks about the one dance she had with him and the strange feeling of being trapped in his arms. Once, during her training with the Amazons, she was bound in her lasso for an uncomfortable hour until she managed to free herself. Sitting now in the Wayne's drawing room, she realizes that the dance made her way more bound and uncomfortable than her lasso did.

The Bruce Wayne in her mind smirks at her and she lets herself visualize taking him down with a carefully aimed gut punch. The thought calms her down for a moment… and then the pig-headed bastard that she's conjured up in her mind stands up, still smiling and simply adjusts the cuff of his shirt.

 _Stubborn,_ she thinks. _Powerful._ His reputation as a businessman comes to mind. _Rough._ His hands, holding hers, had felt as if they were frequently used for more than just signing papers. _Refined._ The image of him smiling down at her with genuine – seemingly genuine – politeness. _Charitable._ Various charities, all headed by him.

Then she thinks of the multibillion dollar businesses with Lex Luthor. _Wily._ The period of time he was absent from Gotham City and his business. _Mysterious._ The suspicious lack of any potential information on him or his family. _Secretive._ The death of his wife at the hands of the mob. _Shady._ The amount of patents he held on potential instruments of war. _Forceful._

Waiting for Bruce Wayne to arrive, preparing for what should be the most subtle game of seduction she has ever played in her lively life, Diana finds that her new target is managing to incite her nerves without even being present. That all-consuming sense of a thousand pins pricking her and the slight cold and just the desperate want to sweat starts to rear it's ugly head.

She hears a slight click as the door she came in from opens. She doesn't turn. Her heart starts beating just one beat above the normal. Her hands prickle suddenly.

"Miss Prince," a clear voice calls out.

Steadying herself she quickly prays to both Athena and Aphrodite. She would need their help. Then, Diana takes a deep breath and turns to look.

Standing at the doorway with his eyes twinkling, dressed in a simple black t-shirt that hugs him tight, dark blue jeans and boots, running a hand through his wet hair, is the unwitting target of the full assault of Diana Prince… Bruce Wayne.

* * *

 **A/N 2: Standard ending stuff. As always, read and then please leave a review. In another slightly maybe bad note, I might suspend working on this to get a chapter or two of 'The League 2** **— ARROW: With A Vengeance' done. It all depends on the responses. And I'll tell this once again, please do check out the one-shot in the League universe as well, available on my profile.**


	6. worthy of getting into bed with

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ta-da! Surprise! Here is the next chapter of this fic and it is totally unexpected and man I am so awesome for finishing this up so fast. The plot thickens, lightens, moves forward and dances in this.**

 **Also, I will ask you all again to read the Nightwing/Prodigy one-shot because events that happened in that will have importance to this fic. Plus, I'd also like more reviews and stuff cuz I'm a little crazy about that.**

* * *

General Phillipus knocks on the metal door she has been standing in front of almost five whole minutes. _The Queen needs to be kept occupied,_ she thinks. When there is no response for a while, she knocks again.

"Come in," Queen Hippolyta speaks from inside and the door slides open. Phillipus steps inside the room and walks towards one of the two seats available in the room. She stands by it and turns to look at Hippolyta, who has just entered and is standing by the washroom door, her face looking as if it has just been washed. Her eyes are bleary.

"Your Majesty," Phillipus says.

"Sit down, Phillipus," Hippolyta says and walks towards the other seat and sits herself down. Phillipus sits down after her and looks again at Hippolyta.

It hurts Phillipus to see her Queen like this. Ever since Diana disappeared suddenly, whenever Hippolyta had to appear amongst the rest of the Amazons, she had been putting up an act. She had adopted a mask that radiated fearlessness and level-headedness. But Phillipus knows that when she is by herself, the Queen is not a queen anymore. She was a mother who has lost her daughter. She was a mother who believes her daughter was kidnapped by an international terrorist.

So saying this hurts Phillipus even more.

"My Queen, we have no information on the first intruder, the one in blue. The second one… the boy, however, like we suspected is very likely connected to the Demon's Head. Our agent who has been on the League of Assassins' back got back to me this morning. She says that a few years back, she had heard rumors of Ra's al Ghul raising a child."

"A child? Ra's al Ghul raising a child?" Hippolyta asks.

Phillipus swallows the knot in her throat and nods. "Yes. We do not know whose child. We do not know why. We do not even know if the information is correct…" She trails off, unsure of how to finish the statement.

"But the presence of a child with training under Ra's would seem to be evidence, proving that the Demon's Head has indeed raised a child. Trained a child. A Son of the Demon."

Phillipus nods again.

The Queen is silent for a moment. A lone tear seems to fight it's way out of her eye and Hippolyta wipes it off quickly. "What is your best guess as to who the other one was?"

Phillipus doesn't want to answer, but still, she has to. She takes a moment to compose herself before giving her statement as matter-of-factly as possible. "My best guess is that he was hired help. Someone the… Son of the Demon bought along for backup. Or someone Ra's himself hired to look after his son, who is admittedly, just a child."

"It doesn't make a whole lot of sense."

"I agree," Phillipus admits. She knows it doesn't make sense, but this is the only thing she can offer to her Queen now. Phillipus looks Hippolyta straight in the eye and speaks what she knows is an unsteady promise. Still, there is conviction in her voice. "I promise you on my honor, my Queen, that I will find whoever has your daughter and I will bring her back."

— — —

It takes all of three microseconds for Diana to collect herself. Or at least, that's how long she wishes it would have taken as she stands up from her seat after a whole five seconds. Seeing Bruce Wayne has thrown her off, but not because she is nervous. _No._

It's because she doesn't expect him to look so… casual. The Bruce Wayne she had met the day before was the well-dressed, impeccably suited in a black tux and white shirt and a pair of loafers and was man who just emitted a professional aura that somehow had high doses of charm and charisma. That was a man who she could see as the Wolf at the head of the Wayne Enterprises, making ruthless business decisions by day and committing illegal activities by night.

This Wayne is different. It's the same person, obviously, and she can see that. But still, he is different.

She walks towards Wayne slowly, smiling. "Mr Wayne," she says.

He starts towards her, grinning. He corrects her affably. "Please, call me Bruce."

"Only if you call me Diana," she counters.

Wayne meets her halfway. Standing in front of her, he fixes his eyes on hers and slowly takes her hand in his. Raising it to his lips, he briefly kisses it. The gesture feels unexpected, but somewhere inside her, there is a muffled squeal of glee. "Come," Wayne says as he starts walking back towards the door. "I've kept you waiting more longer than I intended."

"Honestly, you haven't," she says. It's the truth. She barely had time to get settled before he appeared.

Wayne looks back at her and there is a twinkle in his eyes. "Honestly, Miss Prince," he starts but then corrects himself. "Diana," he says her name as if he is testing how it rolls in his tongue. "I intended to be there to open the door. I didn't. Ergo, I kept you waiting longer than _I_ intended."

There is a noticeable stress on the way he says 'I'. Coming from him, Diana takes it as an indication that Bruce Wayne is someone who likes things done according to his schedule.

"Am I too early, then?" she asks, joking.

"No. No. You're not. I was caught up in some important work. Lost track of time."

As they talk, they cross the great hall of the manor and walk towards a door straight in the opposite side. Diana glances up at the painting of the Waynes once more. The odd reproduction in the drawing enters her mind again, but she decides not to ask about it. _Not yet, anyway._

At the door, Wayne stops and opens it for her. Thanking him silently, she walks past him into yet another vast room in the Wayne household. This time, the room she has entered is the dining room. It is as large as the drawing room, though for obvious reasons, decorated very differently.

There is a long table covered in white cloth with around twenty chairs placed around it. It doesn't seem like the table is used often, but then again, it occurs to her it could simply be because the butler's inclination towards keeping the Manor immaculate. Near one end of the table, there is a cart that holds a tray containing food covered with shiny silver domes – cloches – preserving their warmth.

"We don't use this room much. The clan prefers to eat either in the smaller dining room or the living room," Wayne offers, walking towards the end of the table.

 _Clan?_ The odd word makes her wonder. She asks, "Clan?"

Wayne nods, chuckling lightly. "Yes," he says, not really providing an explanation. "Do you find it odd?"

"Yes, but only because it seems such…" Diana trails off. She doesn't know what she can comment about his family when she hasn't met anyone other than the butler yet. Unable to pick up her sentence, she finishes by saying, "It is unique."

Wayne laughs. "Diana, you are correct on that account."

Now at the chairs, Wayne pulls the seat at the end of the long side of the table and waits for her to sit. Then he reaches towards the tray on the cart and relocates it to the table, leaving one plate in front of her and another in front him. Pulling out the end chair, he sits down. "Hope you don't mind the informality…" Wayne says as he pulls out a bottle of champagne from underneath the cart and pops it open. He grabs a champagne glass and pours for her.

Then, he dramatically pulls off the coverings of the plate.

Seeing what's on carefully laid out on her plate, Diana controls the urge to giggle. The food choice, though by no means is bad, is utterly unexpected.. "Interesting choice of lunch."

Wayne uncovers his own and looks down at the large slice of pizza and a varied assortment of side dishes that is made up of green salad, potato wedges, onion rings and fried strips of what seems to be chicken. A huge smile is plastered on his face and his eyes are alight with surprise and amusement.

Wayne looks up at her. "I do have an explanation for this," he offers.

"What?" she questions, genuinely curious.

"Dick was in charge of the food choice. I assume he chose the pizza. The salad was probably Jason and Damian definitely takes the credit for the wedges and the rings…" His voice is filled with affection. "He does find them fascinating," Wayne says, leaning back in his chair, his face still beaming.

Looking at Wayne now, listening to him casually talk about his _clan_ , Diana realizes that despite her fears, the nervousness has not yet popped up. Then she makes another realization, that the Bruce Wayne sitting here does not fit into the devious, charismatic, illegal businessman image of him she has constructed in her mind. _Damn_ , she thinks, _he must be even better than I thought he is._

Her instincts still scream that he is hiding way too many secrets and she trusts her instincts above all else, but also… a part of her wonders, _what if I am wrong?_ Her immediate reaction is to start choking down that instinct, but she restrains it. _For the moment,_ she tells herself.

Picking up a fork and a knife in his hands, Wayne looks at her, "Shall we?" he asks.

She arms herself with cutlery and smiles at Wayne. His genuine delight seems infectious. It unsettles her, almost making her shiver. "We shall."

— — —

"Damian."

"Yes?"

"Damian!"

" _Tt._ Yes, you may speak, Todd. I am listening."

"You think Bruce likes this… Diana?"

"No! No he does not!"

"Alright, alright, calm down. Okay. I don't know why that bothers you."

"Father is simply playing with this woman. He–"

"You do _know_ what 'playing with a woman' can mean?"

"Of course, I do. _Tt._ Father suspects _her_ of something or another and the only reason she is even within the walls of the Manor is because he wants to learn about her before he can take the correct actions going forward."

"Alright. Got it."

"It was why he asked me to infiltrate Themyscira. To obtain information so that he can learn more about her."

"You went to Themyscira?"

"He wouldn't do… he loved… _Tt._ You will not speak of this conversation, Todd, if you wish to retain the ability to speak."

"I will not."

"Good."

"Hey… you never did tell how in the world you got that nasty cut? The one on your shoulder–Okay! Okay! Not talking."

"…Fighting, obviously. _Tt._ When I was in Themyscira, on the mission for Father. A girl managed to–"

"You got cut by a girl? Oh my god wait till Bruce hears of th–Get off me you–!"

— — —

Bruce Wayne's butler, Alfred Pennyworth, Diana learns over the lunch is a jack-of-all-trades who was really excellent at what he did. The pizza is absolutely delicious. The wedges are baked just right. The salad is crunchy and light. The onion rings are fried and perfectly crisp. The chicken strips, which she has never actually tried before, end up rocketing to her top ten list of favorite snacks.

In addition to being a master of the kitchen, Alfred, according to Bruce is also a trained soldier and medic, a well-learned man and a pioneer in fields including computer programming, computer engineering, electrical engineering, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, nanotechnology, and biotechnology.

It seems a little too many things for one man to be, but after eating his food, Diana believes Bruce's words. Further, she notes an almost paternal respect in Bruce's voice when he speaks of Alfred. She understands, somewhat. When her mother was busy being the Queen of the Amazons when she was a child she was taken care of by her aunt Antiope and General Phillipus. To this day she thinks of them as mothers. Bruce Wayne, growing up without parents…

Diana and Bruce also talk a little about his business and her time Gotham City. Though his questions aren't overtly observant as Grayson's were during her dance with him, she senses that her answers may reveal more than she intends to. She ensures her answers are carefully thought out. The sense of nervousness, though buzzing in the background, is not an issue anymore.

"What business are you here on?" Wayne asks, after she tells him about how she is finding the city so far.

She recalls the half-truth filled conversation she had with Grayson the day before and realizes she never explicitly told him what exactly her business was. "I am liaising for an organization based in Greece with a start-up company in the U.S." she half-lies again.

"What is the company you're liaising with?" Bruce asks, with interest. "Maybe I can help."

She allows herself an inner smile of victory and thanks the precautions that Superman has taken with the League. Anticipating questions like this from various interested individuals, the League has an alternate identity with which Superman has created branches around the U.S., and a few overseas. "Justice International," she answers.

Bruce chuckles. His blue eyes twinkle. "I…" he thinks for a moment. "I can't say I have heard of them. But if you do need help, don't hesitate to ask. I think whatever you're doing, I would love to help out, any way I can."

"Bruce," she says, her voice not betraying the immense glee in lying to this man, "I would love to. But we are still just starting up. Don't get me wrong, you've been in my mind ever since I began working here," she continues, her tone now inflected with the barest hints of an underlying charm, "but I still don't know you well enough to…" She pauses and smiles at him. "To get into bed with you."

The smile on Bruce's face falters for a minute. His eyes widen just the slightest bit, and she can see him trying to control himself. She feels the blessings of Aphrodite surround her. She feels the web she's weaving start to take effect.

"I assure, Diana," Bruce says after a moment, "if there is anyone worthy of getting into bed with, it would be me." There is a glint in his eyes and his ambiguous statement is said with complete composure, though he is still smiling. After all this time being a gentlemen, his eyes now roam downwards, towards her body, half hidden by the table. They seem to be boring through the wood and enjoying what they see.

She feels a boost of confidence. The dress she is wearing is knee length and backless, in a shade of black that can only be described as lustrous. It molds into her body perfectly. She knows that it enhances all her delicate curves and compliments her figure. Diana also knows the low cut probably helps too, but she has a transparent shawl draped around her that serves to both add to her beauty and to her mystery. Thought Bruce's eyes seem focused, she simply can't think of what he is doing as perverse. She doesn't know why.

A few instants later, he looks up. Still smiling, he picks up on his previous statement. Chuckling, he says, "If you don't believe me, ask anyone in Gotham, Wayne Enterprises and all its associated businesses are very legal and very successful." He lets a moment pass, then adds, "Just, don't ask any of my competitors. And never ask Oliver Queen."

 _Oliver Queen? The Star City counterpart of Bruce Wayne?_ She doesn't bother to clarify. She has already started playing the game, and she can't afford to get distracted. She adjusts herself in her chair and takes a sip of her champagne. Then, she leans towards Bruce.

"Mr Wayne…" she starts. Suddenly, her phone rings loudly. Excusing herself, she quickly brings it out and looks at it.

 **SUBJECT L:  
EMERGENCY ALERT**

 **Hostage situation at** _[coordinates]_ **.**

 _Damn._ It it is an alert from the League program in her phone that scans all police and law enforcement data to determine emergency situations and let's the nearest League members know so that they can help out. The League might have been officially created as a private intelligence organization, but part of its credo was to 'serve anywhere, save anyone'. She doesn't know what she can say to Bruce now to get away without shattering the progress she has made.

She doesn't have to. Almost as if sent by the gods above, Dick Grayson bursts into the room. Seeing the two of them, he pulls a face. "Err…" Grayson starts, almost breathless, "B, there is a call from the Wayne Enterprises board and Lucius really wants to talk to you about the… whatever, it was some finance thing."

Bruce stands up, looking quizzically at Grayson. "I will be there, just ask him to wait."

"B, Lucius is not in the mood to wait, I don't think."

Thankful for the chance to leave without suddenly breaking it off, Diana pipes in, "Bruce, it's alright. You can go," she says and then nods towards her phone, "I have some business to attend to as well," she lies. Regarding Wayne, whatever business matters have popped up and whoever this Lucius is, she is very thankful.

"You sure?" Bruce asks.

"Absolutely," she replies. "And this means I get a chance to come by another time," she adds for good measure, fixing her eyes on his. Near the door, she notices Grayson looking both amused and concerned.

Bruce smiles. Grayson nods towards the doorway and after quickly muttering "I will make up for this," Bruce Wayne runs off after his eldest son. Diana stands up and fishes her purse for a contact card and leaves it in the table. Then she looks at her phone again, memorizes the details of the emergency and runs to her first public debut as Wonder Woman.

— — —

The Doctor smiles as she listens to her partner in the Amazons. The news is very good indeed, her partner confirms. The Queen of the Amazons is now more convinced that her daughter is taken by the League of Assassins. Soon, her partner reports, it will be the absolute truth as far as Hippolyta is concerned.

"How about your end?" The Doctor's partner asks. "Have you found out anything relevant?"

"Yes," the Doctor answers, her tone eerily calm, "I have."

"Who are they?"

"Who 'they' are I still do not know," the Doctor answers, "And the only connection I can draw from the swordsman is to Ra's al Ghul. But the other one…"

Her partner interrupts before she can continue. "You found something about the blue-suited intruder?"

The Doctor nods to herself, revelling in her brilliance. "Yes."

"But we couldn't! How?!"

"The Amazons have always been so very shortsighted. You see Man's World only as a place riddled with mistakes and wrongdoers and patriarchy…" There is an intent silence on the other end, her partner is listening carefully, unwilling to interrupt her even to defend the Amazons. "And you are right, of course. It is. But still, it helps to pay attention. The blue-suited man fits the descriptions of a vigilante sighted in the American city of Gotham… I believe he is called… 'the Nightwing'."

"The Nightwing?" her partner asks, incredulous. "What a pretentious name."

"It is."

"Have you done anything about him?"

The Doctor thinks of the band of hired mercenaries she's sent to Gotham City. So, so, so many weapons of death and destruction and carnage. She will soon have the Nightwing. _Oh, Diana,_ the Doctor thinks, _soon you will be mine._ "Yes," the Doctor answers, "Yes I have."

* * *

 **A/N 2: Remember how I said I might stop this for a while to focus on the ARROW fic? Yeah, that changed. The Arrow fic is now part of the one-shots, and will recieve a full story after the League 2. And the League 2 will now be the sequel to this and a Batman story. There is that.**

 **The Batman fic will be preceded by a flashback-including** **one-shot, 'RED HOOD: (title undecided)' which will be required (more or less) reading to better understand the Batman fic.**


	7. didyougottogotogotham?

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Oh, my gawd, how long has it been since I updated this fic?**

 **Nothing to fear. Updates will come. But it is kind of hard time for me to actually plan updates and I am juggling three different multiparters. So, forgive my lateness but, do enjoy the next chapter in Wonder Woman: Infiltration, this time featuring a little bit of Barry Allen. And a mention of a Justice League supervillain. And more of Diana-ness and stuff.**

* * *

"I will make up for this," Bruce Wayne utters to Diana in an apologetic tone and then takes off in a run.

Diana watches his tall form run after his eldest son and silently thanks Hera for whatever emergency had popped up in his end. She wants to leave the Wayne Manor as fast as possible, but not because she hasn't been enjoying her time with her target (despite herself), but because a League emergency has popped up in a very inconvenient time.

After fishing through her purse for a 'Justice International' contact card and leaving it on the table where she had been enjoying lunch with Wayne, she takes her phone out again and quickly pulls up the notification that came from the League application. Quickly reading through it, she realizes it's not a League emergency per se. More of a… Gotham City emergency and one that she should probably let Batman handle.

 _It is his city, after all._

Diana smiles at the thought and shakes her head. It didn't matter whose city it was, she was going to help the people who needed it. She wasn't scared of the Bat. She had no reason to be. She was his equal in every way, and maybe even better. Diana runs out of the Wayne Manor, quickly thanking a confused looking Alfred whom she comes across in the grand hall and gets into her car.

And then she presses her feet to the accelerator and doesn't stop until she reaches her destination.

— — —

As she parks her car in the shadows of an alley and quickly changes into her League-issue Wonder Woman armor and places the digital mask over her face, Diana runs through the current situation in her head.

Seemingly for no reason and out-of-nowhere, a Coast City-Gotham City train has been taken hostage by a supposedly new group of terrorists with all of it's passengers inside. The only reason she had even gotten the alert was because she is in the vicinity. The League thought well ahead, and with careful satellite tracking and a very exhaustive network of almost sentient software monitoring for crime, nearby League members would always be alerted to criminal incidents nearby.

Diana switches on the mask. Without waiting to make sure the distortion of her face is complete, she quickly makes her way to the Gotham City Train Station. She expertly blends into the crowd and feels their anticipation. They are all collectively holding their breaths, wondering how the events are going to fold out. No one appears to take notice of her, or her barely concealed sword hanging at her hips.

"Maybe the Bat will appear," she hears someone whisper.

"The Bat will appear," a woman replies confidently. Some people have their phones out and are recording the events.

She doesn't take it to mind. She actually wonders whether he would, as this is the daytime and bats were well-known for being nocturnal. _A creature of the night_ , Diana's mind flashes back to the time she saw Batman talking to Superman. Diana shakes her head and tasks her mind to figure out a way to get into the train without any casualties.

She finds that she doesn't need to think for long.

All of a sudden, there is loud crash inside the train and sounds of a scuffle breaking out. Gunfire erupts. Glass breaks. The crowd gasps and screams and falls to the floor in fear. No one knows what's going on inside. Diana's hearing picks up someone inside beginning to swear – _in Greek?_ – before the curse is cut short by a loud crunch. Something deep and instinctual tells her that the terrorists are distracted, and the same gut feeling also tells her to leave. Whatever was happening inside, she didn't need to interfere.

 _But…_ Diana is not willing to risk innocents dying on the off chance that some idiot inside decided he could take on the terrorists. She quickly makes her way through the crowd and inches towards one end of the train. Digging into the edges of the service door of the train, she pulls with the strength of Artemis and opens the door.

Soon as she gets in, she spots two terrorists. Cowering in fear and trying not to show that fear by pointing a gun at the passengers and shouting obscenities. Diana feels a smile coming on, and retrieving her sword she rushes in and with two quick strikes, has the terrorists on the floor. The passengers all stare at her in shock and gratitude, and she spends one moment to console them before walking the length of the cabin and opening the door to the next.

And then she sees that her gut feeling was right.

Diana sees what had caused the distraction.

Standing amidst seven unmoving terrorists slumped on the floor of the train, moaning and bleeding, in varying awkward positions is a lean young man with moppy hair and bodysuit that displays an abstract bird design in electric blue emblazoned across his chest. In his hands he wields two batons, their ends sparking with electricity. His head immediately snaps in her direction, his body automatically assuming a fighting stance but when he sees her, he relaxes. And, _the nerve of him_ , smirks.

Diana stares in shock.

Behind the baton-wielding young man, one of the terrorists rises up and attempts to attack. The young man seems to sense it and quickly pulls off an acrobatic backflip, his feet skimming over the roof of the train in mid-air and lands behind the attacker. As he lands, he sticks his electric batons out and Diana can only watch as the gunman falls to the ground again, electrified. The move by the young man triggers a memory in Diana and she realizes that she has seen him before, practicing in the Watchtower.

 _Who is he?_

Her question is answered almost immediately when the door to the cabin from the other end opens up and the imposing figure of Batman stepped in. His suit glows mutely in the train's light and there is a scowl underneath his cowl. In his suit's gloves, there is blood. Across his chest, there is a bat insignia that declares to whoever stands across him exactly who he is. Batman looks over her, turns to the man in blue and utters in a light growl, "Nightwing, all clear."

Nightwing nods, smiles at her once more and leaves.

Batman stares at her.

She opens her mouth to speak. She hasn't decided what she wants to say. Doesn't know whether to congratulate him or compliment him or just greet him. Nothing actually forms in the back of her head. But–

"Get out of my city. Now." Batman growls before she can get any words out of her mouth.

And then, after staring hard at her for one more second through the electronic blue eyes of his cowl, he turns, just as a cloud of thick black smoke materializes almost out of nowhere, and disappears.

— — —

The Doctor stares at the man standing in front of her.

"You failed," she spits out with venom in her voice. The man flinches but manages to regain his composure and stare her in the eye. _False bravado_ , like all mercenaries, she thinks.

"You told me I would encounter one young man."

"I did."

"Well, turns out you sent me into the arms of the Batman."

The Doctor's confidences stumbles for a moment at the mention of the Batman. She hadn't expected this. She had heard of the Batman, of course, but like many… she hadn't seen him. Up until this very moment, the concept of the Batman was nothing but an urban myth to her. A fairy tale told to scare the criminals of the crime-ridden Gotham City… but…

"The Batman?" she asks.

The hired mercenary nods. "He didn't take too kindly to us taking a hostage. Neither did his partner… the blue–whatever you called him." The mercenary rolls his shoulders, wincing, before continuing. "Some of my boys mentioned a girl who put them down on their asses."

The Doctor's attention perks.

 _A girl?_

"Huh…" she whispers to herself before looking up at the mercenary with a sweet smile on her face. "Come closer," The Doctor says, "And do tell me more."

— — —

 **[you have** ** _3_** **missed calls from** ** _Bruce Wayne_** **]** **  
** **14 days ago (2)** **  
** **3 days ago (1)**

— — —

It's been about two weeks since she last saw Bruce Wayne. It has also been about two weeks since she saw Batman. Ever since that incident in the Gotham City Train Station, Diana has stayed away from Gotham. She isn't scared of the Batman and she definitely is not staying put because of his command to "stay away from [his] city". She genuinely has good reasons for not having gone to Gotham City despite currently investigating Bruce Wayne.

Someone got footage of her and managed to get in on the internet.

File sharing sites, social media and web video platforms all have various clips of her during her fight inside the train floating around. The clips are too short to be any proper use, nobody can see her face and most definitely blurred and of shaky phone camera quality, but still. There are clips of her online. That isn't exactly the greatest thing.

Neither Batman nor Nightwing are seen in any of the videos, despite having acted in broad daylight. But she is. Over a hundred thousand people have already seen, liked or disliked, commented and debated over her appearance.

Not that it matters, but somehow, knowing that people in the Man's World have now actually seen her and knew of her existence, even as some sort of urban myth-like figure makes her hesitate just a little. After all, Diana was born, bought up and trained in an island filled with just Amazons and that never will leave her body.

Diana wonders whether her sisters and her mother had seen the video.

 _Probably not_. They tend not to pay great attention to the Man's World… though, with her missing… They just might have been looking. She doesn't know what to do with that thought. But yes, the video is one of the reasons she has stayed out of Gotham.

Another reason is the sudden appearance of one of the possible hostiles on the League database. Around three days after her stint in Gotham, a string of mind-controlled mutants had started wreaking havoc around Happy Harbour and Rhode Island. For the most of the last two weeks, herself, Superman and Aquaman had worked hard together to establish the curious facts and apprehend the man responsible – _Starro_ , the Conqueror – a maniacal and delusional scientist who had perfected mind control through spliced starfish genes.

The whole incident was very out of the world.

After that, which was the first time the League had actively gone out as a team to fight – it didn't matter that people saw them this time, because everyone who saw the League were mind-controlled and wasn't likely to remember – Diana has mostly stuck around the Watchtower. She hasn't had time to think about Bruce Wayne, but three missed calls from him burn in her pocket where her phone always lies. She doesn't know why she hasn't called him back.

She doesn't know if she want– _No._ She definitely wants to. He was a slimy human who was involved in something dark and secretive and she will uncover his secrets.

But still, she hasn't called him. What free time she gets when she is tending to League-matters, she spends it training with Shayera or chatting with the Flash whenever he is around, who is quickly rising to become her best friend.

Right now, she is in the cafeteria, a Flash-made brew in her hand and is talking to Barry Allen.

He finishes complaining about someone called the Trickster and she offers him some advice. She tells him a little more about her belief in her gods. He tells her about some cretin named Cisco. Then he takes a small sip of his own drink and with his eyes looking the other way, asks in rush, "SoitriednottobringthisupbutdidyougottoGotham?"

She might have increased abilities of hearing, but that never helped with people who spoke at the speeds of Barry Allen. "Huh?" she asks, "What?"

"I really tried not bringing this up… I swear I did, but…" Barry looks at her now and rubs the back of his neck. "I heard you went to Gotham City two weeks ago…?"

Diana raises her eyes. "Clark tell you?" she asks, using Superman's civilian identity, which he had seen fit to share with her during the Starro incident. Right now, there are five founders not including herself and she knows the name of three of them. The only ones she doesn't know are the Green Arrow and Batman. Both of whom she hasn't seen around much.

Barry nods in answer.

"Yeah," Diana says nonchalantly. "I did go to Gotham City."

"And Batman didn't come to scare you off?"

"Yeah, he did."

Barry nods again. "Hmmm."

"What?" she asks.

Barry stares at her oddly, his fingers tracing around his cup and then asks, "Why'd you go to Gotham City?"

Diana thinks for a moment. Despite loving Barry Allen and trusting him, she doesn't want to reveal any details of her investigations into Bruce Wayne. Not to anyone. Not before she got a chance to actually gain some evidence that is more than circumstantial. She takes a sip from her drink before fixing her eyes on Barry. "You know I don't get to go out much," she says in a neutral tone – _it is the truth, after all_ – "I just felt like having some time out."

"Ah," Barry says sagely. "Okay."

A moment passes in a sort of awkward silence.

"You're welcome to come to Central City anytime," Barry offers, grinning. "I have no reason to scare you away."

She raises an eyebrow at his statement. _No reason?_

Barry seems to interpret her raised eyebrow for something else and quickly adds, "Not that I _could_ scare you away…"

She laughs. She is about to say something in return when there is a beep in Barry's phone. He looks at it, mutters a "sorry, gotta run" with a smirk on his face and takes off towards the surface at the top of his speed. Diana doesn't even bother waiting. She quickly sends up a prayer to her gods to help Barry with whatever was the emergency, and decides to go to the training room.

When she walks into the training room, she halts in her tracks.

Cape detached, moving in a flurry of precision strikes against the steel dummies that line up the 'brawling area' is an unmasked Batman. He is turned away from her, but when the door slides open and she steps in, he freezes for the barest second before pressing a button at the base of his neck. His cowl slides out, seemingly from inside his suit, and within seconds, the Batman's face is covered.

He turns to her with an expression in his face that is a mix between a smirk and one of his trademark scowls. "Want to train, Princess?"

* * *

 **A/N 2: Like always, comments and what-you-thinks are well appreciated by me. I see the end of this fic at somewhere between 18-24 chapters and it is not just romance, it has an overarching plot as well. So... yeah. It might be long.**

 **Plus, if anyone is willing to co-write the series as a whole with me, do send me a PM. I have ideas for Superman, Batman, GL, Aquaman and like every JL member I can think of for this series, but** **obviously** , **I have no time. If there is a particular Justice League-er you like and would like to see in this verse, if you PM me, we can discuss and maybe find a way to expand this version of the characters.**

 **(sort of unrelated side-note: I loved every bit of Batman v Superman except some parts of its story. Please Snyder, make Batman/Diana a thing in the movieverse)**


End file.
